Agenda - 05-07-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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2 1 process, it was assumed that there would be an agreement with Orange County and this area 2 would become a part of Chapel Hill. He said it is now known that town initiated annexation is 3 unlikely for any unincorporated parcel in the state. He said that for town services to be 4 provided, the town has legal restrictions with what it can/cannot do outside of the town limits. 5 He said there needs to be a lot of thought, as plans are made for extending urban 6 services into these joint planning areas. He said there are many factors that distinguish this 7 area from a rural area, yet this will never become part of the Town in any Town initiated 8 process. He feels the Board needs to incorporate a response to this into its discussions. He 9 questioned, if it is decided that this will never be part of the Town of Chapel Hill, whether 10 urbanizing this area is a wise effort or not. He questioned whether the Board should consider 11 transitioning this area into the Town through other mechanisms. He said that the 12 neighborhood's continued demand for urban services, like water and sewer, will put 13 development pressure that may lead to voluntary annexation by a developer. 14 Commissioner Dorosin said the Mayor's comments are important context for discussion, 15 but the Board of Commissioners needs to keep in mind that the issues related to Rogers Road 16 come in the form of remediation. He said this makes it more distinct then other ETJ areas and 17 this is a unique issue. 18 Mayor Kleinschmidt said he was just adding this to the conversation. 19 Commissioner Price said Commissioner Rich said they brought the information about 20 this proposed legislation in reference to the elimination of ETJs by the legislature to the meeting 21 yesterday of the Task Force and it was discussed. 22 Mayor Kleinschmidt asked if the task force could be encouraged to add this to their on- 23 going discussions. 24 Commissioner Rich said when the Task Force discussed this last night, it got mixed 25 reviews. She said the bills are coming to the Board of County Commissioners' so quickly these 26 days that County Commissioners often can't meet on time to discuss them so the Board has 27 had to amend how it does business. Commissioner Rich said the reaction of the task force is to 28 have the conversation in spite of the bill and she is not clear on what Mayor Kleinschmidt wants. 29 30 Council Member Donna Bell arrived at 7:15. 31 32 Mayor Kleinschmidt said one response would be to come to an agreement on the zoning 33 intensity desired for this area to keep it from becoming an urbanized area outside the city. He 34 said this might be underscored more, instead of just being one of the principals. 35 Commissioner Rich said that would be something the Task Force would be considering 36 in its discussion of gentrification anyway. She asked if he wanted to add the zoning issue to 37 that portion of the charge. 38 Council Member Jim Ward said he does not feel the vision for this area should be 39 changed based on proposed legislation. He said that as this area grows, it will make more 40 sense for that part of the community to be part of Chapel Hill. He said he feels that moving 41 forward, it should be ensured that what is being done with regard to possible utility service 42 districts is legal, even if ETJs get discontinued. He said another question that came up was 43 regarding the fact that there is no ETJ out there; it is a joint planning district and it is unclear if it 44 will be affected by ETJ legislation. 45 Commissioner Dorosin suggested the audience might benefit from an explanation about 46 the proposed legislation. 47 Mayor Kleinschmidt said the first important point is the change in the annexation rule 48 that was enacted last year. He said that in any state with limited ability to grow, even 49 temporarily, it becomes permanent; because the political will to return to thoughtful growth 50 planning never arises. He said the second concern is a more recent piece of legislation that